Iraq's prime minister pokes fun at Trump over wiretapping claims during trip to White House

President Donald Trump greets Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi at the White House in Washington, U.S., March 20, 2017.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi appeared to poke fun at President Donald Trump during a visit to the White House on Monday, joking that he had "nothing to do with the wiretap."

In front of reporters in the Oval Office, Trump declined to respond to questions about wiretapping, according to a pool report. Trump had previously accused the Obama administration of tapping phones in Trump Tower ahead of the election.

Abadi then grabbed Trump's arm and said jokingly, "We had nothing to do with the wiretap," according to the pool report.

In the Cabinet room after an Oval Office meeting with Abadi, Trump commented that he hopes his Cabinet "will go down as one of the great Cabinets of the United States" and criticized the Obama administration's nuclear deal with Iran.

"One of the things I asked him was why did President Obama sign that agreement for Iran because nobody has been able to figure that one out," Trump said. "Maybe someday we'll be able to figure it out."

Trump also affirmed US support for the fight against the terrorist group ISIS and said "a lot of things are different than they were just five or six weeks ago" in that regard.